Second Manassas: Longstreet’s Attack and the Struggle for Chinn Ridge

In 1862, looking for an opportunity to attack Union general John Pope, Confederaie general Robert E. Lee ordered Maj. Gen. James Longstreet to conduct a reconnaissance and possible assault on the Chinn Ridge front in northern Virginia. At the time Longstreet launched his attack, only a handful of Union troops stood between Lee and Pope's Army of Virginia. Northern Virginia's rolling terrain and Bull Run also provided Lee with a with a unique opportunity seldom seen during the entire Civil War-that of destroying an army, an elusive feat keenly desired by political leaders of both sides.

Second Manassas: Longstreet's Attack and the Struggle for Chinn Ridge details the efforts of Longstreet and his men to obtain the ultimate victory that Lee desperately sought. At the same time, this account tells of the Union soldiers who, despite poor leadership and lack of support from Pope and his senior officers, bravely battled Longstreet and saved their army from destruction along the banks of Bull Run.

Longstreet's men were able to push the Union forces back, but only after the Federal, had bought enough time for the Union army to retreat in good order. Although Lee did not achieve a decisive victory, his success at Chinn Ridge allowed him to carry the war north of the Pontiac River, thus setting the stage for his Maryland Campaign. Withing three weeks, the armies would meet again along the banks of Antietam Creek in western Maryland.

In this painstakingly researched book, Scott Patchan paints a vivid picture of the battle-ground, using new sources to sharpen the details and provide insights missing from previous volumes chronicling the Second Battle of Manassas.